0.2. Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis Introduction¶
0.2.1. Introduction¶
0.2.1.1. Course Introduction¶
Content Goals for this Course
Reinforce the concept that costs and benefits exist for every data structure.
- Learn the commonly used data structures.
These form a programmer’s basic data structure “toolkit”.
- Understand how to measure the cost of a data structure or program.
These techniques also allow you to judge the merits of new data structures that you or others might invent.
0.2.1.2. Costs and Benefits¶
- Each data structure has costs and benefits.
Rarely is one data structure better than another in all situations.
We talk about a lot of data structures and algorithms that have stood the test of time.
- Any data structure requires:
space for each data item it stores,
time to perform each basic operation,
programming effort.
Only after a careful analysis of problem characteristics can we know the best data structure for a task.
0.2.1.3. Data Structure: Definition¶
- A data structure is the physical implementation of an ADT.
Each operation associated with the ADT is implemented by one or more subroutines in the implementation.
Data structure usually refers to an organization for data in main memory.
File structure: an organization for data on peripheral storage, such as a disk drive.
0.2.1.4. Logical vs. Physical Form¶
Data items have both a logical and a physical form.
Logical form: definition of the data item as an ADT.
Ex: Integers in mathematical sense: operators +, -
Physical form: implementation of the data item within a data structure.
Ex: 32/64 bit integers, overflow.
